


Need Implies Necessity

by chibimono



Series: Want Verses Need [1]
Category: Booster Gold (Comics)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Ted from the Dead!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-20
Updated: 2011-04-20
Packaged: 2017-10-29 21:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/324333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibimono/pseuds/chibimono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ted's back and working with Booster again, but he's not sure he's really needed anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Need Implies Necessity

Ted rubs his eyes and lets his head flop against the chair back. Anymore continuum theorem or chronial physics and he’s probably going to belt someone. Possibly Rip. But if it’s important for the mission, for assisting Rip, and for Booster’s survival in the timestream, Ted... _guesses_ it’s a worthy cause to turn his brain to mush. Though, the scariest thing has to be the cute little girl they have running around. That she can point out Rip’s mistakes, let alone travel on her own in the timesphere, is more than a bit terrifying.

Ted is about to begin another round of journals on the studies of tachyon particals when the time platform lights up with Booster and Skeets’ arrival. Shoving the periodicals aside, Ted stands and waits for Booster to notice him as he and Skeets discuss relaying information to Rip’s database.

“He doesn’t need to know about the icecream truck, Skeets,” Booster says rather sheepishly to the hovering droid. “I’m sure we can leave that part out.”

“I’ll see what I can do, sir,” Skeets hums as he floats his way toward the computer banks. “But you know Dr. Hunter. He has a way of finding these things out.”

Booster gave a forlorn sigh as he moves toward the steps of the platform, but stops in his tracks at the sight of Ted.

“You’re still here,” Booster says softly, a hint of wonder in his voice making it sound almost like a question.

“Still got a lot to catch up on,” Ted smiles easily.

Booster smiles, somewhat wistfully, in return. The lines around his eyes, which were never there before that Ted could remember, make Booster look as tired as Ted feels.

“God, it’s late,” Ted says, scrubbing roughly at his face and hair. “I really... I should get going.”

Reaching out, Booster hesitates at putting his hand on Ted’s shoulder, but instead drops his hand back to his side. “You think you can make it all the way back to Chicago?”

“That’s what auto-pilot is for,” Ted shrugs. “I’ll get a couple of winks before time to land the Bug, so a couple hours flying is no big deal.”

Booster is staring at Ted, and his eyes only cut away for a moment in thought before he speaks. “Stay,” is all he says. It’s a simple word simply said, but somehow Booster manages to sound like he was asking, begging, and possibly even commanding all at once.

It tugs at his chest to see Booster like this, hesitant and pensive. But Ted can understand why, seeing as how he left Booster behind to run off alone to his death. Twice. But this isn’t goodbye so much as it’s goodnight.

“Boost,” Ted sighs, shakes his head. “I’m not sleeping on that cot in the storage room again. It was one thing that you were injured and, yeah, I was worried, but--”

But Booster is smiling, that same bittersweet smile, and he’s slowly reaching for Ted’s hand. His fingers wrap gently around Ted’s wrist and pulls ever so slightly. ”Just stay.”

And that guilty feeling is threatening to pull Ted apart. That feeling of there being nothing in the world that he could do to make up for leaving Booster behind. So when Booster gently tugs again, Ted is following him through the lab and past Rip’s precariously piled gadgets of time travel. They move into the hall, where offices have been renovated into makeshift living quarters, with Booster’s room at the end, drawings of ponies, rainbows, and daring Boosters fighting monsters carefully tacked to his door by Rani.

Ted has been in Booster’s room before. He’s poured over the the newspaper clippings on the walls of things Booster changed or could have changed. The furnishings are spartan; a dresser and bed with one bedside table. The few framed pictures of the Justice League International sit proudly on that table among more art by little Rani, but there are no ads or photo spreads or merchandise. Nothing that says money or fame. The room holds nothing to remind Booster of who he used to be. It makes Ted think about when he believed he was so mature, and he shakes his head over how immature he really was then compared to Booster now.

Booster lets go of Ted’s wrist when they enter the room, and loss of contact lets the guilt seep back in. Ted walked away from Booster to save the world, twice. And he would do it again if he had to. But in his absence, Booster left him behind. The walls around him tell him of the growing up that these six long years forced on Booster and, well, Booster didn't need Ted anymore.

“You don’t need me,” he says as much, watching the way the bed moves as Booster sits on it to take off his boots.

“Hmm, maybe,” Booster shrugs, the gold and blue of his back moving fluidly. “I don’t need you. But maybe... I want you here?”

Ted feels himself make a frustrated sound in his throat. “Are you telling me or asking me?”

Booster stands up and peels his top off in one smooth motion before looking at Ted. “I want you here.”

Putting his back to Booster, Ted sits on the bed and looks down at his hands. He circles his wrist with one had, touching where Booster had pulled at him earlier. “I’m not... necessary here.”

“Except you take Rip’s attention to get him off my back,” Booster huffs. If he looks, he can see Booster is ticking off each reason on his fingers. “You’re an extra voice to take my side when my sister is being annoying. You can teach Rani all the things I can’t. If Rip is busy, I’ve got you I can work with when I’m in a pinch... So, yeah, I’d like to have you around for those reasons, since you being my _best friend_ and I’ve _missed you_ for _forever_ doesn’t seem to be enough for you.”

"I treated you like crap," Ted whispered. "And then we didn't talk for a long while."

The bed shifts under Ted as Booster sits down on the other side. "Water under the bridge," Booster says gently.

"How..." Ted turns sharply to frown at Booster's back. "How can you just... _say_ that? I was a total ass to you!"

Booster's bowing his head, so whatever emotions are flitting across that perfect face are lost to Ted. "You weren't so bad when you... left. And I saw you again, but that was one of those time travler things." Booster chuckles, but it sounds broken. "I almost destroyed the timeline, I missed you so much..."

It's a punch to the gut, Ted's breath forced out of him in the form of his friend's name. "Booster... I..."

"From the moment I lost you, all I wanted was to have you back," Booster turned to look at him, a weariness to his eyes. "I don't need you, Ted. Not like I thought I did. But you're my best friend and without you, I kinda have this you-sized hole in my heart... and not much fits that can fill it."

Ted's not sure what to say to that. He thinks he should say _I love you_. Or maybe _I love you, too_. But he doesn't know if either of those are the right words. So he settles instead for a very earnest, "Thanks, buddy," and hopes Booster understands.

Booster just smiles, that bittersweet smile again, and nods. "Bedtime. And we'll grab Rip later to work on making room for you here."

Ted sighs and flops back against a pillow, kicking off his sneakers. "I'm not staying in the storage room."

Booster huffs a laugh as he gets up to shuck off his shiny costume bottoms, with Ted focusing on pulling off his socks to avert his eyes. "I'll move into the storage room, then."

"No, no," Ted says. "The big damn hero needs a decent place to get his rest."

"Then we'll get bunk beds," Booster shrugs, climbing under the covers in a pair of sweatpants.

"Nah, this bed is fine," Ted smiles. "It'll be like old times, pal!"

Booster's getting comfortable and looks over at Ted. "Yeah, but we aren't drunk and this isn't the Embassy."

"But you're my best friend," Ted huffs as he shimmies out of his pants and crawls under the blankets, comfortable in his teeshirt and boxers. "And that hasn't changed."

Booster's amazingly blue eyes are a little misty as he says, "Thanks, buddy." If a tear rolls from them, Ted isn't sure that he wouldn't reach out to wipe it away--which makes Ted pretty relieved when Booster calls out to shut off the lights.

They settle in easily and sleep comes fast for Ted. The last thing on his mind before he drifts off is how he's glad to be wanted here, and by person that means the most to him.


End file.
